Parc de la citadelle (Citadelle park)

An old military fortress designed by Vauban

The 11 ha of this large and pleasant park are located within the old citadel, the stronghold designed by Vauban in 1681, which was destroyed by Prussian artillery during the siege of Strasbourg in 1870. The site lay in ruins until 1964, when it was renovated and turned into parkland. There still remain vestiges of the fortress, which were also restored, such as an escarp wall, an escape door, two bastions and ditches, which previously served as moats. The park is crisscrossed with winding paths running along the water-filled moats. Several sections are set aside for games (including one for water games).

A leisure area near the German border

With all the people walking, running and duck-watching in the park, it would almost be possible to forget its previous role as a military fortress, connected to the city by 2 rampart walls dotted with bastions, built facing Germany to defend access to the Rhine. A self-contained city within a city, the citadel actually had its own jurisdiction: there were barracks, officers’ lodgings, the governor’s residence, powder houses and animal feed, in addition to mills, ovens and even a church.

Vauban took particular care over its design, noting that “it is through here that all Germany comes and the Germans, who are extremely curious and highly knowledgeable, are able to appreciate the magnificence of the King and the excellence of his property, through the beauty of its gates.”